Obito's eyes widened at Ren's words, his brows knitting tightly together.
"What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
Ren replied calmly, "The village's arrangements did have their problems. But under normal circumstances, with Minato's strength, your team would have remained relatively safe."
"So the suffering you experienced really can't be blamed on Minato, who knew nothing about what was happening."
"If you want someone to blame, then blame me—who knew everything but allowed it to unfold."
"And blame Uchiha Madara, who orchestrated everything behind the scenes."
"And the being who deceived even Madara himself."
"You know about Madara?!" Obito's pupils shrank.
"Wait—what do you mean you knew everything? And what do you mean by someone deceiving Madara?!"
Ren's calm certainty left Obito frozen in place, his heart churning with shock.
Just the fact that Ren had recognized him already stunned him.
But now Ren was speaking openly about Madara.
The shock was overwhelming.
Obito clenched his teeth.
"What the hell is going on?"
Ren didn't beat around the bush.
"It's simple."
"You were targeted by Madara Uchiha a long time ago."
"Everything you experienced wasn't an accident."
"It was all carefully orchestrated by him."
"During the Kannabi Bridge mission, Rin was captured by Iwagakure ninja. You and Kakashi went to rescue her. Your Sharingan awakened. You were crushed by falling rocks and left on the brink of death."
"All of it—was part of Madara's plan."
"Later, on the Kirigakure battlefield, Rin was captured again and turned into the Three-Tails' jinchūriki."
"Kakashi rescued her."
"Then Kirigakure pursued them."
"And Rin chose to die in front of you."
"That entire sequence… was another play directed by Madara."
"Even Minato arriving one step too late each time—those delays were caused by accidents arranged by Madara."
"You think Madara meeting you was coincidence?"
"No."
"He had been watching you for years."
"For all you know, that old man or old woman you once helped in Konoha might have been Madara in disguise."
"So even if the Third Great Ninja War had never happened…"
"You probably would have experienced the same tragedy during some other mission outside the village."
"That's impossible!" Obito shouted.
"How could something that complicated be planned in advance?!"
"I don't believe it!"
His eyes were bloodshot, veins crawling across the whites.
Even though he had never fully trusted Madara and always remained somewhat wary of him…
He still couldn't believe everything had been planned from the start.
Such a complicated chain of events—
If even one person had made a slightly different decision…
If even one step had gone wrong…
The entire plan would have collapsed.
How could everything unfold exactly according to Madara's will?
"That's exactly what makes Madara terrifying," Ren said seriously.
"He understood human nature completely."
"With just a little guidance, he could steer events toward the outcome he wanted."
"And don't forget—Madara had White Zetsu under his command."
"White Zetsu can perfectly imitate almost anyone."
"Replace just a few key individuals with White Zetsu…"
"And Madara could ensure events never strayed too far from his intended course."
"And that alone would be enough."
Obito froze.
He suddenly remembered White Zetsu's ability.
Before, he had simply found it fascinating.
But now that Ren mentioned it…
Something began to feel wrong.
His encounter with Madara had always been suspicious.
And the timing had been too perfect.
Madara had been nearing the end of his life—
Searching for a suitable successor.
And Obito had appeared at exactly that moment.
The events that followed had been equally dramatic.
Too dramatic.
Once might be coincidence.
Twice might be an accident.
But three times?
What was that?
With White Zetsu's Impersonation Technique, manipulating events suddenly seemed much easier.
Obito stared fiercely at Ren.
"Then explain this," he said through clenched teeth.
"You said you knew everything."
"How did you know about Madara's plans?"
His voice trembled with urgency.
He needed the truth.
Ren looked directly at him.
"That has to do with these eyes of mine."
"I saw the future."
Before Obito's shocked gaze, Ren's three-tomoe Sharingan began spinning rapidly.
The tomoe blurred together—
Transforming into a unique pattern.
Six small triangles surrounding a hexagon.
The shape resembled a broken six-pointed star, or perhaps a simple drawing of the sun.
"Mangekyō Sharingan…?!"
Obito's eyes widened.
It surprised him.
Yet at the same time, it didn't.
Ren had never revealed this power before, but given his strength, possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan felt almost inevitable.
The Mangekyō pattern appeared only briefly before reverting to the three-tomoe Sharingan.
"My eye ability is called Kunitokotachi no Mikoto."
"It allows me to trace things back to their origins—and glimpse the future."
"It lets me see things others cannot."
"A long time ago, I noticed strange creatures constantly following you."
"Later I discovered those creatures were White Zetsu."
"By tracing that trail…"
"I discovered the existence of Uchiha Madara."
"And I saw his plans."
"And you, Uchiha Obito…"
"…were the pawn Madara selected."
"Everything you experienced unfolded beneath the gaze of these eyes."
In truth, Ren had indeed awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
But the ability called Kunitokotachi no Mikoto was something he had completely fabricated.
It was merely an excuse to explain his knowledge of the future.
Without such a story, there were too many things he wouldn't be able to explain.
After all—
He couldn't just tell Obito he was a transmigrator from another world.
So making up a Mangekyō ability was the best option.
And tricking Uchiha "Wisdom-2" Obito probably wouldn't be difficult.
After all, everything Ren said had actually happened.
He had merely changed the source of the information.
As expected, Obito didn't question his explanation.
Instead, his face twisted with fury.
"If you knew everything," Obito snarled,
"Then why didn't you do anything?!"
"You just stood there and watched while Madara toyed with me?!"
"You watched Rin die?!"
His emotions spiraled out of control.
To Obito, Ren's cold indifference was even more unbearable than Madara's manipulation.
Especially now—
When Ren stood before him like a lecturing observer.
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